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Photo: Ruben Wills / Facebook/Courtesy shot

In the grand tradition of politicians seeking to gain empathy for (and votes from) their constituents by living out the less comfortable parts of city life, Queens City Councilman Ruben Wills tried to get inside the issue of homelessness by living on the street for three days. But his experience became a bit too realistic when Wills came down with a case of pneumonia, so he called off the experiment after just two days. However, before he threw in the towel, the New York Daily News reports, Wills went to Long Island College Hospital without ID or an insurance card, "and said he was pleasantly surprised by how 'cordially' he was treated." He spent the next morning opening doors at a McDonald's and pumping gas, to raise $25.99 for a bottle of antibiotics.